Subject: Norming and extending the Universel character set + address chg.

From: [email-masked]
Date: 22 Dec 93 20:48:00 +1900

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Mike, please change SC2/WG2 mailing list (WG2 N 951R) as indicated below.
I18Ners, please receive this nice Christmas gift that SC2/WG2 is offering us.

Best wishes. Alain
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To       : rnet([email-masked])
CC       : rnet([email-masked])
Subject  : WG2 December 1993 pack very interesting - miscellaneous issues
Delivery : Reguliere
Msg-ID   : 19AC000100000007E7980000
From     : ALB
Date     : 12/22/93
Time     : 20:31
Type     : EXPRESS
Form     : Mail

Yesterday I received WG2 December 1993 pack and I browsed through it during the
long (1 hour) wait for contact lens adjustment at my daughter's optometrist.

I found very instructive (as an amateur of Zhong Wen [Chinese culture]), and
interesting, Beijing's contribution N937, a proposal to add a new category of
structured combinations to form virtually all existing Chinese characters on
earth: it even says how to combine the radicals to present them, bearer of
very useful information.  I found in document N995 (minutes of WG2 meeting 24)
that there were communication problems with the Chinese delegates and that this
had caused the group to send China to IRG instead of WG2 for presenting this
proposal.  How come?  It seems to me that it is WG2 matter, I guess people had
not read the interesting contribution before, which is extremely economic in
storage and allowing tens of thousands new characters for virtually no storage
cost in table data. 2nd question: What is IRG, so that I explain that to my
AAA (Anti-Acronymic Association) local chapter?  (-: :-)

Then I read the Japanese Position on an extension of UCS (N938): I tend to
agree with Professor Shibano that either UCS-2 is used as is or then we leap to
UCS-4 if extensions are needed.  My personal feeling is in agreement with the
expression of some members that most installations will not want to pay for
more than 2 octets per character.  This said, exposed with the error-prone
problem of extension mechanisms, most installations that would require to go
beyond that in my opinion would nevertheless prefer the simplicity of one and
only one straightforward standard as UCS-4.  Inventing a new ISO 2022 will only
do harm in my humble opinion.  So I strongly agree with the Japanese
position on this.  You may find this contradictory with my previous paragraph:
for Chinese I said I found that interesting and instructive and I think it
could be part of an informative annex, but first I have to study it more to see
if it is not too complex to handle, even if at first glance I think the imbedded
semantics might be worth the variable code in this single case only (as
other combining characters also have merits which I do not contest).

Useful to SC22 (WG20 and Plenary) will be the positive answer of SC2 to WG20
liaison report N909 (the answer is in WG2 N 948): even if it goes in a
direction that is judged by WG2 as not exactly the answer SC22/WG20 wanted to
hear, when WG2 says it is easier to normalize from fully-formed characters to
composite sequences, and judges it wiser not to normalize UCS level-3, I
personnally can but applaude to the statement "However, SC2/WG2 recognizes the
need of the equivalent data, SC2/WG2, therefore, will provide the equivalent
data with comment of warning for use of the composite sequences".  This should
be most helpful to simplify the ordering standard and I think as editor of the
latter I could also cooperate in doing this in harmony.  In fact it is like
directions taken by some corporations (including my own employer): even if it
is not a de jure norm, a firm direction de facto becomes a norm.  This might be
wiser indeed. I am very satisfied with WG2 work. I wish I were there.

Finally please note a small change in the mailing list (N 951R) I would like to
be made: please change the spelling of my employer (p.  5, last entry) from
"GOVERNMENT" TO "GOUVERNEMENT" (the right spelling of "GOUVERNEMENT DU
QU<E'>BEC") and change my email address to [email-masked] with an indifferent
alternate as [email-masked]

Have a very Merry Christmas, "hot" if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, and
"snowy" (even artificially for most of you) in the Northern one, and a very
happy new civil year of 1994.

Alain LaBonte'
Minist`ere des Communications du Que'bec
in the world capital of white snow, Que'bec

cc Mike Ksar, SC2/WG2 Convenor
   [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked],
   SHARE Europe NLA team, [email-masked]

PS: If you want to write to Santa Claus, his real address is:
    Santa Claus / P<e!>re No<e:>l
    North Pole / P<o>>le nord,
    Canada H0H 0H0                (note the valid postal code, ho! ho! ho!)

It is too late for this year I guess (unless by express mail) but if you send a
mail there next year you should receive an answer (Canada Post does ensures
Santa team answers letters personally).  This is no joke.  We're not in April
but we can nevertheless smile (-: